Method and apparatus for producing decorative stone



Sept; 30, 1969 R. c. ROLLETTE 1 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING DECORATIVE STONE Filed March 8, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet l lA/VE/VI'OR RQJERFC. fiousrrE ATTORNEYS Sept. 30, 1969 R. c. ROLLETTE 3,470,012

um'rnon AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING DECORATIVE STONE Filed March 8, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 j lA/VENTOR j" ROBERI'CROLLEITE R. c. ROLLETTE Sept. 30, 1969 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR rnonucmo DECORATIVE STONE Filed March 8. 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 //VVNFOR ROBEPFCROLLE/TE ATTORMEYJ METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING DECORATIVE STONE Filed March 8. 1965 R. C. ROLLETTE Sept. 30, 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 A )uveNroe r Y W WW4 w United States Patent 3,470,012 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING DECORATIVE STONE Robert C. Rollette, Phoenix, Ariz. (280 Elackhawk Blvd, South Beloit, 11!. 61080) Filed Mar. 8, 1965, Ser. No. 437,759 Int. Cl. B44d 1/20, 1/44; B05c 3/04 U.S. Cl. 11754 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Stone to be coated is preheated and introduced into a rotating drum which includes therein a spray arrangement forming a spray pattern of coating material. As the drum rotates and the stone is tumbled, the stone falls through the spray pattern a number of times to become completely coated and is fed to a separate section of the drum to be dried. The stone is preheated on its way from a storage area to the drum and is dried on a conveyor after exiting from the drum during its travel to storage.

My invention relates to an apparatus and method of producing decorative stone and to the decorative stone produced thereby, and more particularly to a method of producing decorative stone including the step of coating.

Various colored particulate stones have won wide acceptance for use as roofing materials, as a substitute for grass lawns, for gardens or patios, or the like. The first use of decorative stones of this type involved the selection of various special mineral-containing stones which had a particular desirable or pleasing color. When it became apparent that the variety of colors and the amount of stone for certain colors was limited, it was proposed to paint or color any type of stone so as to give it the desired appearance. For instance, green-colored stone has won wide acceptance as a substitute for grass lawns, particularly in the southwest portion of the United States.

In the Southwest and certain other portions of the United States, strong sunlight is an environmental factor which tends to fade or otherwise degrade coating compositions employed to color stone. Sustained high temperatures as well as the direct effects of sunlight are also significant. In other portions of the country, moisture tends to be a problem in the degradation of the coating material employed. Consequently, most coating materials developed for use with decorative stone are developed with a view to solving the problems raised. by environmental conditions.

Heretofore, a decorative stone has lacked uniformity in color and coating thickness. Many of the coatings previously applied were thin and were easily deteriorated through abrasion due to handling or the like. Many organizations, in order to avoid overly-thin coatings, tended to overcoat their stone. While these coatings certainly covered all parts of the stone, there was little control over the thickness and color of the coat applied and was of necessity a very wasteful practice. Further, in the previously-known coating methods and apparatus, a given batch of stone passed through a coating process could have some stone which was very thinly coated and other stone which had received an overly heavy coat of coloring material.

Along with uniformity of coating thickness and color, coating texture is significant. The preferred coating finish or texture is a uniformly dull, substantially non-reflective coating. Previously-known methods of coating stone for decorative purposes had, among their other disadvantages, the property of producing undesirable shiny or glazedappearing colored stone.

Accordingly, it is an object of my invention to provide a decorative coated stone having a uniform coating.

Another object of my invention is to provide a method and apparatus for producing uniformly coated decorative stone.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art in the course of the following specification and claims when taken in light of the accompanying drawings.

I have discovered a method of producing uniformly coated, uniformly colored decorative stone. In accordance with my method, and using my apparatus, I first heat the uncoated particulate stone to a temperature of from about F. to about 200 F. Heated particulate stone is then introduced to a coating chamber where it is tumbled. In the coating chamber, a water-base coating material is applied to the heated stone. After coating, the stone is removed from the coating chamber, further tumbled, and dried, thereby to produce a uniformly coated, uniformly colored decorative stone product.

A better understanding of my invention may be obtained in light of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation illustrating the relationship of the various elements of my apparatus.

FIGURE 2 is an elevation of a heated conveyor in accordance with my invention.

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of a heated conveyor in accordance with my invention.

FIGURE 4 is an elevation, partially in section, illustrating details of the rotating drum portion of my apparatus.

FIGURE 5 is a partial elevation, partially in section, illustrating a portion of the drum portion illustrated in FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a partial elevation, partially in section, illustrating the spraying area within the drum portion of my apparatus.

FIGURE 7 is an elevation illustrating the drying portion of my apparatus.

FIGURE 8 is a plan view illustrating the drying portion of my apparatus.

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged partial sectional elevation illustrating details of the drying portion of my apparatus.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to FIG- URES 1-3, stone is fed from a hopper 10 onto a moving belt type of conveyor 11. The stone may have been previously graded, if desired, and it is preferred that the stone have a size sufficient to be retained on a M; inch screen and pass a inch screen. The conveyor belt 1.1 is of a heat-resistant material, and preferably is a wire mesh type of belt. As the stone is carried upward by the conveyor belt 11, the stone -on the conveyor belt passes under a plurality of gas burners 12 thereby raising the temperature of the stone to the desired level. A shield 14 may be employed to cover the burners and, if desired, support them. The main purpose of the shield is to deflect heat downward onto the stone and thereby increase the heating efficiency of the burners. Each burner may be controlled so that one or all burners may be employed if desired. I prefer to feed all my gas burners 12 from a main gas line 15 having a main gas control valve 16 so that I may shut off all burners at once, if desired.

Stone from the heater-conveyor is discharged into the rotating drum portion of my apparatus. Referring particularly to FIGURES l and 4-6, heated stone enters approximately at the center of the left-hand portion of my rotating drum 2.0. My rotating drum is approximately 16 feet in length and is broken into four sections of approximately equal length. The two left-hand portions of my rotating drum are substantially identical and have a perforated exterior skin 21 as shown in FIGURES 4 and 5.

A stationary running lip 22. provides support and guidance for the left end of the rotating drum. As may be seen from FIGURE 1, rotating drum 20 is inclined slightly downwardly to the right as will be explained more fully later. Stone enters the first or left-hand section of the rotating drum and fine materials pass through the perforations 21. The perforated portion of the rotating drum 20 is not required unless the stone raised by the conveyor has an unduly large amount of fines included with it. Stone in the rotating drum is lifted by stone carriers 24 which are substantially rectangular ribs, parallel to the longitudinal axis of the drum and extending from the outer surface of the drum toward its center. As the drum 20 rotates, the carriers 24 pick up a portion of the stone and carry it upwardly substantially along the periphery of the drum. When a carrier reaches a height such that its angle is too great to carry the stone, the stone falls to the bottom of the drum. Thus, a tumbling action is imparted to the stone. Because of the downward tilt of the drum toward the right, the stone is caused to move toward the right as it is lifted and tumbled within the drum. In this manner, the stone is passed through the drum. When the stone reaches the right-hand sides of its respective drum section, lifters 25 channel the stone through a central aperture in the section divider 26. The tumbling action is imparted to the stone in substantially the same manner in all four of the sections of the rotating drum illustrated in the drawings.

When the stone has passed through the perforated sections of the drum, the stone is channeled onto the spraying section. In construction, the spraying section is substantially the same as the perforated section except that its outer or peripheral surface is imperforate. Referring particularly to FIGURES 4 and 6, spraying means 30 is positioned near the central axis of the spraying section or chamber of the rotating drum. Suitable means such as a retaining bar 31 are employed to support the required plumbing 32 which serves the spray means. A pump 33 provides spray pressure. For uniformity in spray rate and pressure, I prefer to use a positive displacement pump adapted to minimize pulsation. Typical of such pumps are the Grayco President series of power flow hydra-spray pumps. The pump employed in the embodiment shown applies 28 pounds per square inch pressure at the spray nozzle for each pound of pressure applied at the pump. As spray means 30, I refer to employ a nozzle which forms a spray pattern 34 which extends about /2 the length of the spraying section, and has a width of from about 2 to about 6 inches. By adjusting the angle of the rotating drum 2'0 and the rate of rotation thereof, I prefer to control the linear rate of passage of stone through the drum so that each particular piece of stone passes through the spray pattern from about 3 to about times and is tumbled between each successive passage therethrough.

When the stone has passed through the spraying portion of the drum, lifters 25 introduce the coated stone into a tumbler section 35 of which is of substantially the same construction as the spraying section. The stone passes through the tubmling section, which may also be referred to herein as the predrying section, and is removed therefrom by lifters and channeled onto a drying conveyor means generally designated 40. The stone is distributed on the drying conveyor means to effectively form a moving bed.

Referring to FIGURES 7-9 and 1, the drying conveyor means 40 comprises a porous belt 41 having a plenum 42 along one side thereof. Preferably, the porous belt is of a heat resistant material such as wire mesh. Suitable shielding 44 is provided whereby air which is introduced through the plenum 42 is forced through the operative portion of the porous belt 41 and the bed of coated stone carried thereby. Adjustable air-control doors 45 are provided so that air may be directed to or excluded from any desired portion of the porous moving belt 41 in any desired amount. Air is forceably introduced to the plenum 42 by a blower 46 and suitable duct work 47. Where ambient temperatures are below the desired drying temperature, heating of the forced air may be required. A gas burner 49, which is supplied by gas line 50, is suitably provided. Dried coated stone is discharged from the end of the drying conveyor into a hopper 52 but may be discharged directly into a truck or like conveyance.

When stone is coated in accordance with my invention, the stone has a coating which I refer to as a double coat. In explaining what I mean by the term double coat, an analogy may be drawn from everyday experience in house painting or the like. Ordinarily, a first or single coat is not sufficient to cover a painted surface so as to mask the features or coloring beneath the first coat of paint. Consequently, after the first coat has been applied and permitted to dry, a second coat is applied to complete the painting job. When the method of my invention is correctly practiced, a double coat of coating material is applied to the stone in a single operation without an intermediate drying step. In general, a double coat in accordance with my invention is just thick enough to provide adequate coverage of the stone substrate material without being excessive.

As hereinbefore stated, I prefer to heat my stone to a temperature of from about degrees Fahrenheit to about 200 degrees Fahrenheit prior to coating. When temperatures less than 100 degrees Fahrenheit are employed, a coating resembling a single coat is obtained which does not mask the basic substrate coloring completely. When temperatures greater than about 200 degrees Fahrenheit are employed, a glazed surface may appear and, in addition, windows may appear in the coating.

Heating of the stone may be accomplished by any desirable means, and may be combined with a transportation step if desired. I generally prefer to pre-grade or presize my stone so as to operate my process with a uniformly-sized stone. The grading may occur before, during, or after the heating step, or at any combination thereof. While I prefer to employ a substantially uniformly sized stone in my process, this is not essential. Stone may be screened to remove undesirable fine material, dust or the like employing a perforated drum section or by pre-' screening whether the stone is graded or not. Usually, I operate my process with stone not greater than inch in diameter.

The coating chamber used in accordance with my process may be of any size, shape, or design which will impart a tumbling action to the stone particles during coating. I prefer to use a drum having internal carriers and lifters such as illustrated in the drawings for this purpose.

Coating is preferably accomplished by spraying a waterbase coating composition onto the stone particles as they are tumbled in and pass through the coating chamber. To this end, I provide spraying means which sprays in a somewhat restricted portion of the coating chamber which I refer to as the spray pattern or coating zone. I arrange my coating chamber so that each stone particle passes through the coating zone from about three to about five times during its passage through the coating chamber.

Water-base coating compositions in accordance with my invention are mixtures of water with a coating formulation. I prefer to employ water-base coating compositions having a volume ratio of coating formulation to water of from about 0.811 to about 1.5:1.

Water is added to the coating formulation to thin the formulation and to cause it to spread uniformly. Too little water results in an overly-thick, uneven coating in certain portions of the stone with windows occurring at other portions of the coated stone. Excessive water results in a coat which is thin and does not properly mask a basic substrate coloring and is less than a double coat. A further complication which occurs when too much water is present is that the coating is diflicult to dry without drastically altering the apparatus in use. I have discovered after long experimentation, that the desired phenomenon is that the coating dry from the inside with the outer portion of the coating being dried last. If the outside of the coating or the skin of the coating dries first, it is difficult to remove water from the balance of the coating without excessive temperatures and a possible degradation of the coating material or unevenness in the coating. This apparently is one of the reasons why heating of the stone is essential and a preliminary to the coating step. Some of the heat in the stone apparently starts to drive off water from the water-base coating composition at the inside of the coating and the balance of the water is removed during the actual drying step.

I have found that the best coatings may be obtained when the water-base coating composition is sprayed or otherwise applied at a temperature of from about 80 degrees Fahrenheit to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Adjustments may be made to obtain these preferred temperatures by controlling the temperature of the water mixed with the coating formulation. I have also found that excellent, uniform double coatings of the stone may be obtained at an application rate of from about two and one-half to about three gallons of coating formulation per ton of stone coated when the stone is of the standard inch size. More or less coating formulation may be necessary with different average sizes of stone since different surface areas will likely be involved.

Coating formulations useful in accordance with my invention are those which are environmentally suitable, when dried or cured, for use with decorative stone. Typical coating compositions in accordance with my invention contain pigments, certain colloidal elements or materials, polymeric materials such as emulsions or the like, extenders, water, and may contain various well-known dispersants, surfactants or the like.

A preferred class of coating formulation generally contain from about 25 to about 45 percent by weight of a thickener, from about 15 to about 25 weight percent of an extender, from about 1 to about 2 percent by weight of a pigment, from about 0.3 to about 0.8 percent by weight of one or more anionic dispersants, from about 0.6 to about 1.2 percent by Weight of non-ionic surface active agents, from about 5 to about 15 percent by weight of Water and from about 3 to about 5 percent by weight of miscellaneous additives.

Typical of the thickeners appropriate for use in accordance with my invention are the colloidal solutions of methyl cellulose, carboxy methyl cellulose, hydroxy p opyl methyl cellulose, hydroxy ethyl cellulose, or the like, containing from about 1 to about 2 /2 percent water.

Polymeric emulsions particularly suitable for use in accordance with my invention contain from about 45 to about 65 weight percent solids comprising vinyl acetate monomer modified with one or more of dibutyl fumarate, dibutyl maleate, 2-ethyl hexyl acrylate, or the like, and the balance being water.

Any desirable extender may be employed in the coating formulations of my invention, but I have found that chromium oxide is particularly well-suited.

Pigments useful in the coating formulation of my invention are those which provide the desired coloring and are resistant to fading under direct sunlight, extreme moisture, or the like. Typical examples of suitable pigments in accordance with my invention are titanium dioxide, phthalocyanine green, phthalocyanine blue, carbon black, or the like, depending on the desired color.

I have found that dispersants such as potassium tripolyphosphate, potassium tetra pyrophosphate, sodium salt of polymeric carboxylic acid, or the like are particularly well-suited for my invention, but any of the wellknown pigment dispersants may be employed.

Any of the suitable non-ionic surface active agents generally employed in paint or coating formulations are suitable for use in my invention, but I prefer to use the condensation products of octyl or nonyl phenol with ethylene oxide. When these condensation products are employed, I prefer that the condensations be in the ratio of from about 1 mole of phenol to from about 5 to about 12 moles of ethylene oxide.

Typical miscellaneous additives which I may employ are ethylene glycol and propylene glycol. I may also add a preservative such as phenyl mercury acetate, oleate, succinate or the like. I may also add anti-foaming agents such as coconut fatty acids and various well-known proprietary mixtures.

Following application of the water-base coating composition to the stone, the coated stone is further tumbled out of the influence of the spray pattern for a time approximately equal to the time tumbled in the coating chamber. This predrying step apparently aids in the distribution of the coating formulation over the surface of the stone and permits the residual heat in the stone to drive off some of the water contained in the water-base coating composition. A preferred method of accomplishing this predrying step is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein a separate chamber in the form of an extension to the coating chamber is employed.

After the predrying step, the coated. stone is dried or cured. I prefer to dry my coated stone by forming a thin bed thereof and passing heated gas, preferably air, therethrough. A preferred apparatus is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, particularly in FIGURES l and 7-9. The temperature of the drying air may be from about 75 degrees Fahrenheit up to the maximum temperature the coating will stand without being adversely affected. For best results, I prefer a temperature of from about 75 degrees Fahrenheit to about 150 degrees Fahrenheit. The actual temperature employed will, of course, depend significantly on the humidity of the available air or other gas and the amount of water in the water-base coating composition which remains on. the stone leaving the predrying chamber. If the humidity of the available drying gas is high or the amount of water remaining on the stone is higher than usual, or both, the drying gas temperature must be raised appropriately in order to adequately dry the coated stone and maintain the same rate of production with the same equipment. I also may prefer to adjust the rate of gas flow through the bed of coated stone so that the volume of drying gas per square foot of stone increases as the stone approaches the discharge end of the conveyor belt. This is readily accomplished by adjusting the air control doors 45. Obviously, the temperature of the drying air could remain the same if the time period of the drying step were extended, or if the equipment were enlarged.

The following examples are set forth for further illustration and amplification and are not to be construed to limit my invention.

EXAMPLE I Employing the apparatus herein described, stone having an average size of inch diameter may be coated. Stone is fed to the heater conveyor at a rate of about 6 tons per hour. Water-base coating composition is sprayed onto the stone in the coating chamber at a rate of about /2 gallon per minute at a temperature of from about to about degrees Fahrenheit. In the drierconveyor section of my apparatus, the blower delivers 22,000 cubic feet of air per minute and the total exposed drying belt area is 40 square feet. All the apparatus is run at steady state, i.e., 6 tons of stone per hour are fed to the apparatus and 6 tons of coated stone are removed therefrom.

Coating formulations containing from about 25 to about 45 percent by weight of a cellulosic thickener such as colloidal solutions of methyl cellulose, carboxy methyl cellulose, hydroxy propylmethyl cellulose or hydroxy ethyl cellulose, or mixtures thereof, and from about 1 to about 2 /2 percent water; from about 25 to about 40 percent by weight of a polymeric emulsion containing from 7 about 45 to about 65 percent by weight solids and the balance water, said solids comprising vinyl acetate monomer modified with one or more of dibutyl fumurate, dibutyl maleate, or 2-ethyl hexyl acrylate; from about 15 to about 25 percent by weight of chromium oxide exmethyl cellulose, hydroxy propyl methyl celluose, hydroxy ethyl cellulose, and mixtures thereof, said colloidal solutions containing from about 1 to about 2 and /2 percent by weight of water; from about 25 to about 40 percent by weight of a polymeric tender; from about one to about two percent by weight 5 emulsion containing from about 45 to about 65 perof pigment; from about 0.3 to about 0.8 percent by cent by weight of solids and the balance water, said weight of one or more anionic dispersants such as potassolids comprising vinyl acetate monomer modified sium tripoly phosphate, potassium tetra pyrophosphate, with at least one modifier selected from the group or sodium salt of polymeric carboxylic acid; from about consisting of dibutyl fumarate, dibutyl rnaleate, and 0.6 to about 1.2 percent by weight of one or more non- 2-ethyl hexyl acrylate; from about to about 25 ionic surface active agents such as the condensation prodpercent by weight of an extender; from about 1 to nets of octyl or nonyl phenol with ethylene oxide, said about 2 percent by weight of a pigment; from about condensation products in the ratio of from about 1 mole 0.3 to about 0.8 percent by weight of at least one of phenol to from about 5 to about 12 moles of ethylene 15 anionic dispersant selected from the group consisting oxide; from about 3 to about 5 percent by weight of of potassium tripolyphosphate, potassium tetra pyromiscellaneous additives permissably including ethylene phosphate, and sodium salt of polymeric carboxylic glycol, propylene glycol, preservative agents such as acid; from about 0.6 to about 1.2 percent by weight phenyl mercury acetate, phenyl mercury oleate, or phenyl of at least one nonionic surface active agent selected mercury succinate, and anti-foaming agents such as cocofrom the group consisting of the condensation prodnut fatty acids or other well-known proprietary mixtures; nets of octyl phenol with ethylene oxide and nonyl and from about 5 to about 15 percent by weight of water phenol with ethylene oxide, said condensation prodare employed. n ts in the ratio of from 1 mol of phenol to from In tabular form various conditions of temperature, about 5 to about 12 mols ethylene oxide; from about humidity and water content are set forth to illustrate 3 to about 5 Percent y Weight of miscellaneous conditions under which successful double coatings are additives selected from the group consisting of ethylobtained under the conditions hereinabove specified. For ene glycol, propylene glycol, phenyl mercury acetate purposes of this example, stone remains in the predrying phenyl mercury oleate, phenyl mercury succinate: stage for a period of one minute and travels on the concoconut fatty acids, and proprietary anti-foaming veyor belt in the drying section for approximately two agents; and from about 5 to about 15 percent by minutes. weight of water,

TABLE I Coating run I II III IV V VI v o 150 175 2 i lilioie rii liiiler gfifi jllj...Ii.... W 9? 70 70-75 70-75 70-32 28 0 3,315? 1Eggmposition vol. formulation 25/18 25/20 52 25/27 25/225 25/225 fiflllliity'ffitsntifii: 33 33 150 60 i3 53 53 Coatings obtained are uniform double coats and have a dull, substantially non-reflective texture.

The various temperatures, humidities, and rat os of (g) passing said particulate stone through said spray coating formulation to water may be varied within the pattern from about 3 to about 5 times ranges herein set forth in this specification with substan- (h) predrying said stone in a portioil of Said drum tially similar excellent results. means removed from the influence of said spray pat- EXAMPLE II barn, Coating formulations which are environmentally suited (1) removmg coated Stone m SaId rotating dr to the use for which the stone is intended and which are not degraded by the stone and drying air temperatures (1) formlng a b of 8 d Coated Stone, and may be substituted for the formulations set forth in Ex- (k) Passmg alf at a temperature of rom about 75 to ample I with substantially the same resultant coatings. about 150 degrbes Fahfenhbit through d d of Various modifications may be made in my invention Coated stone. without departing from the spirit or scope thereof, and it is to be understood that I limit myself only as defined References Ci f appended claims- UNITED STATES PATENTS c mm: 1. A method of producing decorative stone comprising 8 3/1939 McHan 117-100 X (a) heating particulate stone of a size retained on a 212593379 10/1941 Defining 11710() X /4 inch screen and passed by a inch screen to 2,491,487 12/1949 Faulwetter 117123 X a temperature of from about 100 to about 200 2,724,659 11/1955 Jobbins et a1. 117-27 X degreesFahrenheit, 2,776,914 1/1957 Faulwetter 117-123 X (b) introducing said stone to a rotating drum means 2,927,045 3/1960 Lodge et a1. 117- 100 definingacoating chamber, 2,934,455 4/1960 Dober 117-100 X (c) tumbling said stone in said coating chamber, 3 099 574 7 19 3 Bemier 17 2 X (1 spraying a water-base coating mat a i said 3,285,223 11/1966 Sahlin 117 109 X ing chamber to provide a spray pattern, (e) said watre-base coating material comprising a mix- WILLIAM M ARTIN, Primary Examiner ture of coating formulation and water in a volume ratio of from about 0.821 to about 1.511. EDWARD J. CABIC, Assistant Examiner (f) said coating formulation comprising a mixture of from about 25 to about 45 percent by vreight of a 5 CL thickener selected from the group consisting of colloidal solutions of methyl cellulose, carboxy 117100, 109; 1l866, 303 

